1996

True Blue

           Zach Pentino, the coolest former fifth-grader in Desert Tree, hurried across his friend Jared Reiner’s overgrown front yard and got into the back of his dad’s waiting black Mercedes. To all his friends, Zach’s parents were mysterious, borderline enigmatic figures they rarely saw—even when he hosted a rare sleepover.

           But the truth was, despite their lottery-won wealth, they were just normal if busy folks with two separate small businesses to run and stocks and assets to manage. They’d always been his parents: a pair of kids at heart, who were among the older set that hung out at the Main Street Arcade during its prime in the early 80s, got their lives changed by a single drawing, and unlike most winners, managed their newfound wealth well.

           “Hey, Z-man,” his shades-wearing dad greeted him from the front seat and got the car into drive. “How’d the sleepover go? You guys have a good time at Jared’s?”

           “Yeah, I guess,” Zach replied, only slightly less enthusiastically than usual what with him still dwelling on getting snapped at the night before. He tossed his backpack full of personal belongings to the other side of the rear seats and buckled in. “Is everything still looking good? Think it’ll be the usual three hours to San Fran?”

           Mrs. Pentino covered the receiver of her cell phone as whatever associate on the other end continued yapping incessantly and replied, “We checked the traffic reports before we left, buddy. Seems to be clear for now. Flight’s not for five hours.”

           Zach leaned back and, as effortlessly as always, chilled as they got out onto Kettle and headed to the interstate. Once Royal Valley was in the rearview, he took out a Game Boy in better condition than any of his friends’ units to play some True Lies, a top-down shooter movie tie-in game and one of those “grandma gifts” that he never would have otherwise known about or bought for himself. It wasn’t anything great, but it did beat staring out at arid landscape for the duration of the drive, so it was good enough.

           After around an hour, he conked out, had some strange car ride dreams, woke up and ate some McDonald’s fast-food lunch in Morgan Hill, and then stayed awake all the way into south San Francisco where an airport and a plane to Hawaii awaited them.

           Following a yawn, Zach asked, “Hey, Dad? We’re going to be in Hawaii for a while. What if me and Sophie drive each other nuts? We’re okay on shorter trips, but it feels like… I mean, I think I get on her nerves after a few days. She loses her cool.”

           “Well, Zach, I guess you’ll both have time to work on that, won’t you?”

           From long-term parking, the Pentinos stepped into San Francisco International, which was the kind of airport that had its security right by the entrance. As experienced travelers who kept it light, the three never bothered with checked baggage, which made things smooth, easy, and lost-luggage worry-free. Sophie, however, “ruined” everything.

           Whereas Zach had a cool blue and orange rolling suitcase, his fifteen-year-old cousin Sophie, who came over to them with her “badass strut,” had a huge yet still nearly overstuffed wheeled dresser. Having yet to remove her sunglasses, she chewed gum that she’d never let get near her auburn, freshly-cut long hair.

           She and her dad, who was an “unofficial” twin as he was only a year older than Zach’s dad and looked very much like him, came to a stop nearby. While Zach’s folks checked an array of tube screens to make sure their flight was still on time, Sophie slid her shades down a bit, studied Zach, and popped a bubble. He waited for his rating.

           “Yeah. I guess you still got it, cuz,” she coolly admitted. “I remembered a few minutes ago that you, like, just graduated elementary school. Lose any friends this year?”

           “Of course not, Soph. And I got to run the secret school club at the end, too.”

           “Oh, yeah? I think you told me about that before. What was it called again?”

           Zach took a breath, and since he was also still wearing shades that helped hide his lying—his eyes always had a bad tell—he replied, “We call it The Awesome Corner.” He glanced at Sophie’s huge suitcase. “Is that full of clothes? How heavy is it?”

           “Uh-huh. A little heft doesn’t matter if it means you get to wake up each morning and make a unique style depending on how you feel, ya know? This is just my tropical stuff. None of it fits San Fran life, so I only get to wear it on vacations south of Vegas.”

           “Cooool, Soph. I still don’t quite have the motivation to micromanage that much.”

           “You work up to it,” she replied, and they watched the dads greet each other.

           “Hey, Bro,” Zach’s uncle said, and the two did their little manly handshake they were definitely too old to do, and bumped elbows. “Don’t hesitate to be strict with Soph while you have her. She’s been a bit of a… I’m just going to say it, brat lately.”

           “Dad!” she huffed. “And you’re being a killjoy. I have a social life, you know.”

           Zach’s dad laughed. “We’ll take care of her. You enjoy your Europe getaway.”

           “We really need some time alone, man. Good luck with Sis. She can be a lot.”

           “Don’t I know it,” Mr. Pentino sighed. “But the scenery makes it all worth it.”

           Following that sole bag check, getting past security was an easy breeze, and their aircraft, a Boeing 757, was on time at the gate. Zach always enjoyed the vibe at airports, and even took his shades off just to people watch all the passengers coming and going. As the sun came through the big windows and he ate an airport sub sandwich at his seat while his parents took care of pre-flight business on their cell phones and walked about, Sophie gave him a nudge to get his attention. He turned and saw her tapping on one of those little gray LCD pocket organizers; it was an expensive model with lots of memory.

           “You zoning out, Zach? That doesn’t make you look cool, remember?”

           “I know,” he said with a shrug and took another bite, “but I can’t keep that up all the time. Besides, I’ll never see any of these people again, and they got no idea who I am.”

           “Tch, Zachy! I’ve told you—ya never know who might be watching. There could be a TV commercial producer in the airport, just waiting to find the next big face.”

           In no mood to argue, Zach sighed, “Yes, Ms. Sophie. Teacher of all that is cool.”

           Though they were well off, the Pentinos knew when to spend money and when to save it. Unless on the longest of flights, they saw business class as exorbitant, so on a five-and-a-half-hour one to Oahu, premium economy would suffice. Stuck between his mom and his cousin, Zach spent most of his time checking out a SkyMall catalog, going through his Game Boy library, trying out the “lamer games” on the seatback’s contrasty LCD screen—though the one about fitting luggage into a suitcase was fun—and waiting for Sophie to finish listening to CDs as she drew fashion designs in her sketchbook, so that he could simply chat with her. But she never did either, even during snack time.

           The plane tried to fly away from the sun the whole journey, and by the time they touched down in Honolulu, it was just starting to set. Being near the front, Zach’s family were among the first to deboard, and luck seemed to be on their side when they had to wait only about five minutes at the carousel for Sophie’s heavy luggage. Zach got an idea of its heft when he saw her heave it off the belt and it hit the floor with a thud, but like always, she made it seem effortless, didn’t ask for help, and didn’t broadcast struggle.

           Mr. Pentino called for a shuttle on the way out, but as the resort was on the other side of Honolulu, the idling in the pickup area was boring and lengthy—not that Sophie would ever show boredom. She looked content reading Vogue magazine standing up.

           When Zach saw the shuttle with bright cerulean waves plastered along its side approaching the loop, he scooted off his carry-on and could feel the excitement start to build again. This wasn’t his first time in Hawaii, but a resort was a new experience.

           Once their ride to a place called Sand Dollars pulled up, the Pentino family and the other half dozen waiting boarded, and received a tour of the busy H1 highway. On one side were beautiful tropical green hills and mountains; the other led to the beaches. What was in between was an overdevelopment of hotels, condos, and shopping plazas.

           They turned off, and after sitting in traffic for another fifteen minutes, eventually arrived at the eastern side of Waikiki. Sand Dollars was a moderately sized resort with a modest list of amenities, but had a lovely view of the bay and the Diamondhead park and volcanic crater. On the way into the parking area, Zach noticed a large area that was under construction—or at least it was fenced in; if there was an addition to the resort being built, it seemed to be stalled. A thick plantation of trees had yet to be taken down.

           After they disembarked and stepped into the lobby—Zach was rather amused by the giant pink sand dollar lit up above the door—he absorbed everything about the first room every guest saw as his dad checked in and Sophie scanned the rack of brochures. There was a bit of a line at reception, giving him time to explore the kitschy blue and pink color scheme of a lobby that looked stuck in the 1960s. When he went over to look at a black and white photo of the place’s opening day, he overheard an older man’s voice coming from a nearby office. Stealthily, he peeked around a corner into the hallway.

           “Look, Nathan, you need to stop coming around here,” the unseen man said to a frowning boy about his own age with short dirty blond hair. “As I’ve told you repeatedly, you shouldn’t be fighting your parents’ battles. If there’s a grievance, I’ll talk to them.”

           “You can’t treat me like this, Mr. Shaw! It’s not fair! That’s our land!”

           “Nathan. I’m going to ask you to leave, before you force me to call the police.”

           “Yeah, whatever, man…” Nathan grumbled, and turned to head out.

           Zach retreated, falling back to his parents’ sides. No one else in the lobby seemed to notice the kid at all as he stomped past. Thinking about a certain friend back home who had made a mission out of helping his classmates throughout fifth grade, and did do just that, he wondered about this family’s issue with the resort. What if they were ripping them off? Or had stolen their luggage? Suddenly a little concerned, Zach ran over.

           Just as Nathan was about to go off into the early evening island air, Wes tapped his shoulder. The kid, who was dressed in normal clothes and didn’t look like a tourist, flipped around after the automatic door had opened and already looked irritated.

           “Who the heck are you?” the annoyed boy said words that glanced off Zach.

           “Nate, right? Name’s Zach. I’m from California. A place called Royal Valley.”

           Nathan raised an eyebrow and tried to stifle a sneer. “Okay? Cool. I don’t care. You know, when you live here, you realize pretty fast how annoying tourists can be.”

           “Oh, I’m not a tourist. I got family here, so it’s my fourth visit to Hawaii. But it’s only my first time at the resort, and I gotta know,” he leaned in, “did they take your luggage?”

           “Huh? No. Look, I have to get home. Go have fun… resorting or whatever.”

           “I will. But, uh, if you ever want help or something, you know where to find me!”

           “Yeah, sure. Whatever. Weirdo,” Nate scoffed and left Zach’s smiling face behind.

           “What was that about, Z?” Sophie asked after sneaking up a few seconds later.

           “Soph,” he turned and gave her a confident grin, “I recently decided that I want to help people more, like my good buddy Jason back home. So, I’m on the lookout. What’s the point of being cool, if you don’t back it up by, like… helping others?”

           She took off her shades and stared him the eye. “Really? You’re going to ‘help’ people? I mean, I guess it can’t hurt, but can you even give good advice?”

           “Absolutely! All it takes is world experience, and I got plenty of that.”

           “Uh-huh. This coming from the guy that called me up when you found out we were coming here, and then joked that it was ‘one of those nudie resorts.’”

           “Hey, you knew I was kidding from the start! I can be both fun and serious.”

           “All right, kids, we got the room,” Mr. Pentino said as he twirled a key ring with a seashell attached on a finger. “The three-bedroom suite by the water is all ours!”

           “Sweet,” Sophie said with an amused chuckle and grabbed her rolling suitcase.

           Still on high alert due to Nathan, Zach took in his surroundings as they headed outside, past the pool area and tiki bars with torches, and towards one of the four bungalows that sat right by the beach. His dad unlocked the door to their paradise’s living arrangements, lit up and perfectly organized. Two couches, a large tube TV, the coffee table between them, a kitchen and dining area, and more coastal motifs and artwork than anyone could count. And the ceiling fans, of course, were palm style.

           “Wow. Nice place you picked out, unk,” Sophie complimented and got to giving everything a closer study. “Not bad. I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch out here.”

           “For naps, fine, but we paid for three beds, Sophie,” Mrs. Pentino sighed. “Zach, you’d better get ready to get in yours. We’ll order room service, but it’s late back home.”

           “It’s late back home, but not here! Time to adjust to a new time zone!” he argued.

           His parents both gave him ‘the stare’ that shut him down instantly, but his dad also reasoned, “We need to get an early start tomorrow, anyway, bud. We have a rental car to pick up and a bit of a long drive out to Haleiwa to see your aunt. It’s better to take advantage of that jet lag wake-up time before you start adjusting to it, you know?”

           “Man, we’re doing that first?” Sophie huffed. “When are we going to actually get to see this resort? I was planning to schedule a spa treatment for tomorrow. And shop.”

           “Family comes first, Sophie,” her aunt reminded her. “You should never show up in a place where they live and ignore them on the first day. Remember that.”

           “Yeah, I guess,” she groaned and plopped onto the sofa. “Ohana and all that.”

           “Which room is mine, Dad?” Zach wondered and grabbed his suitcase.

           “Both of the smaller rooms should be the same. Just go pick one,” he explained.

           Not quite believing him, Zach rolled his luggage into the hallway and opened the first door to find a room painted blue, with a twin bed that had a pineapple pattern, a lamp made up of seashells, and two windows with curtains letting in a fresh breeze. He checked the other room, expecting it to be pink. But, oddly, even down to the size…

           “Huh,” he murmured, and took off his shoes. “It is exactly the same. Weird.”

           He fell onto the bed, spread out, and yawned while thinking about where he was now compared to Wes and the others. And also that Nathan kid. He wished he had said more and found a way to help him. It was sad that he’d likely never see him again.

           The next morning, as they were walking from the resort over to the car rental place, Zach saw him again. They actually had to trek north just a mile, up through a neighborhood of fancy homes full of swimming pools and palm trees. In part because the streets still had American-style signage, it reminded Zach of the upscale corner of Desert Tree. And Nathan passed right by them on his bike. It didn’t look like he noticed him back, but how cool would it be to live here? remained a thought on Zach’s mind.

           They arrived at the dealership that rented out luxury automobiles, Mr. Pentino sprang for a sky-blue convertible, he took a picture of everyone standing in front of it, and then they headed northwest with the top down, through the city, smaller towns, and then some farmland—all of it surrounded by vibrant green tropical foliage.

           Tucked awake at the northern end of the island was a quaint place that the eldest Pentino sibling had chosen as her home far away from California. Though some tourists did find their way all the way up to it, Haleiwa had fewer than 5,000 permanent residents and not much to do for kids. Zach always considered his aunt’s colorful cottage, which sat near a dense cluster of palm trees, his most distant and secluded hideaway.

           His dad rolled up onto her pebble driveway as she was watering plants in her garden behind a pink picket fence. After all four car doors had slammed, the elder of the trio looked up, gave her glasses a nudge, put down her watering can, and came up for wordless hugs that buried faces in her floral pattern blouse. While her younger brothers almost could’ve been old Gen X kids, she came from a prior generation. She never cared about being or looking “cool,” but she was quirky and a little eccentric in her own ways.

           “Hi, Auntie,” Sophie said with genuine warmth she seldom showed after her hug.

           “Hey, Sis,” Mr. Pentino barely got out following his turn. “How you doing?”

           “Same old,” she said with a shrug. “I keep trying to grow rare flowers here for some more color, but state laws make it a pain in the neck to import anything.”

           “Yeah, invasive species and all that. Your garden already looks great, you know.”

           “You think I don’t know that? And the only thing some East Asian lotus is going to invade is my yard. Speaking of—Soph, Zach, you seen any mongooses around yet?”

           Zach replied, “We just got in last night, walked a few blocks in a neighborhood, got the car, and came here. But… actually, yes. There was one running around in a yard.”

           “Pests is all they are. Zachy, you see one, feel free to stomp on it, okay?”

           “Sis, c’mon, you can’t ask a kid to do that!” Zach’s dad exclaimed. “Jesus.”

           “Part of living here,” she scoffed uncaringly. “All right, I got tea, coffee, and soda inside. I assume you kids still drink soda, don’t you? But I only buy the diet varieties.”

           “I’m trying to get myself off the sweet stuff, Auntie,” Sophie groaned as they were led into the small house with a squeaky screen door. “Zach’s still all about it, though.”

           “But I’ve tried coffee!” Zach said. “I think I did. It was mostly cream and sugar.”

           Zach’s aunt was known to make a mean pork and poi hot sandwich, and they were still something that united Sophie and Zach in feeling like kids. As the two ate hungrily at a small side table in the living room, they peeked at the old familiar framed photographs hanging on the wall next to them, which held both their baby pictures and faded snapshots of the three Pentino siblings as kids. The sister, being nine and ten years older than the brothers, often dominated the images with her commanding expressions.

           The biggest picture showed all five Pentinos on Castle Hill Overlook in the early 60s, when the boys were still tykes. Notably, Dawn Tower hadn’t even been built yet, so the only office structure that really poked out in the distance was the Torus Building.

           Also in the living room: her three overweight hairy cats, all named after Hawaiian deities. Kanaloa, Pele, and Tuna—who, oddly and ironically, did not like tuna.

           “Sand Dollars?” Auntie said after a big gulp of iced tea. “That’s where you stayed? The old shmaltzy resort from the 50s? I’m surprised it hasn’t been torn down yet.”

           “It actually looks like they’re trying to expand it, maybe add some new facilities,” Mrs. Pentino replied. “Tennis courts are my guess. Our cabana isn’t bad at all, really.”

           And Mr. Pentino added, “Sure, we could’ve gone with one of those new, modern resorts, but ya can’t beat old school charm. It looks like a place Elvis would’ve stayed at.”

           “If you say so,” Auntie sighed, and then muted the small living room’s tiny TV, which was already playing an episode of Magnum P.I. at a low volume. “By the way, we’re hiking up Diamondhead in two days, first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.”

           “What?!” Sophie said, mouth still half full of pig. “Auntie, this is supposed to be a vacation! I didn’t even bring hiking shoes, or the right shorts.”

           “I’ll bring a pair of my old ones for you to wear. The shoes, I mean. It’s the only day I can join you this week. I’m the one who has to be up at five to get down there.”

           “Sorry, Sophie,” her uncle said. “Not much use in arguing with her. Like I’ve told you, she was more of a mom to us than our barely-there parents. It toughened her up.”

           “Toughened up, or made her bossy? There’s a difference, Unk,” Sophie groaned.

           “What about you, Zach?” Auntie asked him. “Say the word, and I’ll just stay here and you can swim all day. Or, I could take you to Kualoa Ranch afterwards.”

           “Where they filmed Jurassic Park?!” Zach nearly spit out food. “Yeah, let’s do it!”

           “Zach, you are so easy,” Sophie muttered to him. “That’s not part of being ‘cool.’”

           “Oh, yes, ‘cool’ is what the kids want to be these days,” Auntie said with a laugh. “The current iteration of ‘happening,’ or ‘with it…’ Groovy, hot, trendy. All these labels. Your father was the same way at your age. But don’t be afraid to just be yourselves.”

           Zach and Sophie glanced at one another, and Zach replied, “Auntie, I… don’t think I am not being myself. I just like being… this way. Cool means, um… You know.”

           “Pretending nothing bothers you, and staying on top of the ‘buzz,’ yes. But that isn’t substance, and it won’t get you through life past high school. You two should spend what’s left of your adolescence finding something that defines you on a deeper level.”

           “Here we go again,” Mr. Pentino sighed. “Hey, I won the lottery, bought a nice house, and I’m raising a good kid, so it worked out pretty well for me, Sis.”

           “You gambled and guessed some numbers. Good for you. Very cool. Unless you want them to grow up as lazy, dependent trust fund kids, they need something more.”

           “Hey, come on, Auntie,” Sophie grumbled. “I want to be a fashion designer!”

           “And I… I want to… help people, somehow,” Zach said. “Like my friend does.”

           “Very noble, Zach,” his aunt replied. “But there’s a big difference between being altruistic, and helping others for your own fulfillment. So, think about what you’re after, and ask yourself what the person you’re helping is after, too.” As her family stared at her, and Zach thought upon her remarks, she huffed, “Anyway, I’m making more iced tea.”

           Once she was in the kitchen, Sophie said to Zach, “Always a lotta fun, isn’t she?”

           It was windy by the time they made it back to the resort in the late afternoon, and the surf looked a little too intense for Zach. As the sun lowered in the sky and his folks got some rest, he floated on his back in the pool and stared up at the clouds going by. Sophie, meant to be watching him, was sunbathing on a lounge chair and trying to keep a firm grip on her reflector so it wouldn’t blow away. He had a lot on his mind.

           “Hey, Soph?” he spoke up when he drifted near her in the nearly empty pool. “How many friends do you have in high school? And do you all hang out together?”

           “I’m not sure. Maybe eight real ones? But they don’t all know each other, no.”

           Zach flipped around, took his shades off, and hung onto the edge. “I mean, I knew a ton of people at school, but I got my main buddy group, too. They always saw me as the ‘cool’ one, but… I dunno. Was I more than just the ‘cool kid’ to them?”

           Sophie dropped her reflector and looked at Zach from behind her own shades. “Did you ever tell them much about yourself?” she asked. “Shared fears and dreams? If not, then, yeah, you probably were just the ‘cool kid.’ Is that so bad, if you liked it?”

           “I, um…” Zach had never really considered such things, and was at a loss for words. “You taught me that to be cool… you had to be at least a little mysterious.”

           “Yep. Leave even your best friends wondering.” She raised her reflector back up. “My friends barely know a thing about the real me, and they think I’m awesome.”

           Zach pushed off, and had some deep thoughts about his life as he drifted. They continued until he was awake in bed at night within a cabana near the beach.

           “Who am I, really?” he murmured as he stared up at the ceiling. “If I’m too much of anything, do I just… stop being what I’ve always been to the others?”

           “All right, buddy,” Mr. Pentino said as they dropped Zach off at a youth group with about a dozen kids, being watched over by a camp counselor-esque young lady full of pep under the main tiki pavilion. “Have fun with all your activities, and we’ll see you in three hours or so. I think we’ll mostly be in the spa building over there.”

           “About time,” Sophie moaned. “Hey, can we do some parasailing later? I need a picture of me doing that to show to my friends. Heh, Madison is going to be jeeealous…”

           “Aw, man, I want to do that, too,” Zach complained.

           “Maybe some other day,” his mom sighed. “We need a little time to ourselves.”

           They went off in the opposite direction across the sun-bleached resort grounds, and, as one of the older kids present, Zach joined the group in the shade. He took off his sunglasses so he could see better, but one boy wearing both a pair and a hat did not.

           “Okay, is that everyone?” the twenty-something girl said, in a very friendly way that reminded Zach of the staff at Camp Morning Dew, from when he went as a kiddo in ’94. “Hi boys and girls! My name’s Beverly, and today I’m going to take you all on the Sand Dollars Hawaiian Expedition Course! Is everyone ready to have some fun?”

           Some of the younger children clapped or hollered excitedly, while one girl about Zach’s age had a question pertaining to Beverly’s choice in summer jobs.

           “Do you have to do this every single day?” she asked in a nasally voice.

           Beverly smiled through the pain and said, “Follow me to the first adventure!”

           As she went over a few ground rules about staying together and doing whatever she told them to do, Zach slid over to the boy in the shades, who seemed very familiar.

           “Nate?” he whispered. “Nate, is that you? Psst, hey. It’s Zach. Remember me?”

           Nate growled and hissed, “What do you want, man? Can’t you leave me alone?”

           “Heh, I knew it. Those can’t hide a face from me. What are you doing here? I mean, you’re a local, right? Do they even let people who live in the area stay here?”

           “Why do you care, dude? I’m doing my own thing here, so take a hike!”

           “Oh, no hikes today!” Beverly said after overhearing him. “But we have a little nature walk where we can play a plant and animal trivia game! Speaking of which, we’ll be using the buddy system, so everyone find just one friend. Even if you want more.”

           “Don’t you dare—” Nathan got out before Zach put an elbow on his shoulder.

           “I got my buddy, Ms. Beverly!” Zach exclaimed and flashed his confident grin.

           Nate groaned. “Gah, idiot! I snuck… I mean, I’m undercover and you’re blowing it!”

           “Nate, it’s cool, man,” Zach assured him as the other ten kids formed pairs. “I’ve done some ‘undercover’ work myself. Besides, what are you going to do, pair up with one of these other guys who might rat you out? I got you back, whatever the problem.”

           Nathan grumbled, but reluctantly replied, “Fine. You wanna help so bad? Maybe you can distract everyone later. I don’t know what order this little kiddie thing goes in, but eventually it’ll get to the room with arcade machines and ping-pong tables, and…”

           “Did you say arcade machines?” Zach murmured. “This place has those?”

           “Sure, but who cares? I can’t go in without a guest key, but I’ve seen this group go in before while spying with my binoculars. There’s a door in there I need to get into.”

           “Okay, got it,” Zach said as they all started moving towards a forested area in the east that looked like a miniature jungle. “Are you going to tell me what’s past the door?”

           “No! What difference does it make? You want to ‘help me,’ don’t you?”

           “Well, sure, but not if it means stealing something. I’m not going to jail for you.”

           “Argh, you’re impossible. Just forget it. I’ll do it myself,” Nate said and got ahead of the rest of the group right after they stepped onto a boardwalk nature trail.

           “Oh! I’m sorry, but can you return to your buddy?” Beverly asked Nate.

           “We’re not buddies anymore,” he replied. “He’s really annoying!”

           “It’s sad to hear that, but if you cause trouble, I’ll have to tell your parents!”

           Nate winced as Beverly smiled and tilted her head, and defeatedly fell back past other giggling kids to rejoin Zach—who was now more curious about Nate’s problems.

           While they traversed the planks weaving through a coastal forest and stopped at info boards about native songbirds and woodpeckers, Zach kept on. He wasn’t trying to be annoying, but knew Nate was at his mercy anyway, and chose aggressive friendliness.

           Amidst their guide reciting basic facts, asking trivia-style questions, and handing out stickers to the duos that got the right answers, Zach asked Nate, “Have you lived on the island all your life? What’s Christmas like here? Have any new malls opened up since I last visited two years ago? Anyway, you gonna tell me what’s past the door yet?”

           “No,” Nathan said flatly. “Please tell me you’re leaving in a day or two.”

           “Oh, we’re staying for a month, dude. Look, if you don’t want to talk, I’m going to instead. My name’s Zach Pentino, and I just graduated from Desert Tree Elementary. I ran our secret club there, called The Dump. Did your school have a secret recess club?”

           “That is the stupidest thing I ever heard. Why would we need a secret club? We live in ‘paradise.’ If you need something like that, your city must be boring as crap.”

           Zach laughed. “Nah, not at all. We even got our own theme park!”

           “That’s just awesome. Next you’re going to tell me about all your friends.”

           “Hey, that’s a good idea. You’ll get an idea of how easy I am to get along with.”

           Zach blabbed on and on about Wes, Jared, and all the others in an effort to get Nate to open up, too. The local boy didn’t take the bait, but it wasn’t as if he had much of a chance to talk back while Zach gave an abridged version of his life story. In time, the nature trail led to the resort’s private beach section, where the buddy-teams had new opportunities to earn stickers. Though, arguably, the next “game” was pretty subjective.

           “Okay, let’s try some beachcombing!” Beverly said excitedly. “Each pairing can bring me one seashell. The bigger and more intact it is, the more stickers you’ll get! And you’ll gain a bonus sticker if you can name the shell’s animal! You have ten minutes.”

           The kids scattered across the sands, no doubt annoying some of the resort guests there for leisure, but Zach and Nate still showed no interest in the group activities.

           “There, I said something about all my friends. What about yours?” Zach asked.

           “Why do you have so many?” Nate muttered. “You’re really one of those popular kids, aren’t you? Man, guys like you have it easy. It actually makes me mad.”

           “Nate, if you have trouble making friends, I can mentor you! My cousin Sophie taught me everything I know. There’s not as much to it as you might think.”

           Nate only rolled his eyes at the offer, and before long, some other team won the top prize and they moved on again. The two were so isolated in their own little world that they weren’t ever aware that others were collecting shells to earn stickers.

           The next stop was the resort’s miniature golf course, which was surrounded by palm trees and had a pirate’s cove theme with a wrecked ship, and a fake cave with fake treasure. The putting greens were mostly full of senior tourists, but the youth program did include a full round for all the kiddos, who swarmed the place to the elders’ chagrin.

           “Are you two sure you don’t want to participate?” Beverly asked and offered the pair a club. “You take turns. It’s pretty fun, and everyone else is doing it.”

           “I’ll watch,” Nate replied. “My dad has golf on all the time. It puts me to sleep.”

           “Sorry, but I’m terrible at it.” Zach laughed. “That’s why I avoid it at all costs.”

           “Suit yourselves,” Beverly sighed, and promptly walked away to take care of a younger duo already bickering about each other’s bad putting skills by a fake alligator.

           As Zach and Nate began to tour the course to at least see some stuff—that, or Nate was just trying to get away from him again—Zach got right back into talking.

           “Where’d I leave off? Oh, yeah! The blackout after the laser tag tournament. You really had to be there for that. Those were some weird, but epic days we talked about for weeks after the power finally came back. Wes swears our team would’ve won, too…”

           Ignoring him, Nate snickered as he watched an old man blow a putt so badly that his competing wife, wearing golf pants, had to share some comfort words before the ball even stopped ricocheting around the course. But his enjoyment was tarnished by Zach.

           “Look, dude, if I tell you what I need, will you stop boring me with these stories?”

           “Um, yeah. Sure! That’s all I wanted. My stories aren’t boring, by the way.”

           Nate stared, and then revealed all, “The resort is stealing my parents’ land, so I’m going to break into the owner’s office and destroy the deed he took! I already swiped the custodian’s key, and there’s a key ring in the utility closet that should get me in there.”

           “Wow. This is more serious than I thought. Ha! Jason will be amazed when he finds out what I helped you do!” Zach took up a proud pose. “Let’s save your land!”

           Nate cringed as he left Zach’s high-five hanging, and muttered, “Dork…”

           At three in the afternoon when it was the hottest it could be, Beverly used a metal key—the resort had yet to upgrade to keycards—and opened a door to the activity room. Brightly lit with a rubbery floor that smelled like cafeteria, it had two ping-pong tables, several compilation arcade cabinets, a basketball hoop game, and air hockey.

           “All right, here’s our final stop for the day, everyone!” she said chirpily. “Teams who win at the games or get a high score on any of the arcade machines get stickers!”

           “Psst. Zach,” Nathan whispered as he eyed an unassuming door in the corner and fidgeted with a brass key he took from his pocket. “If you care about saving my family’s land, you distract her while I get the other keys. Just be annoying! You’re good at that.”

           “You got it!” Zach replied with a little salute, and Nate set off. “Ha,” he told himself, “if I can save The Dump from Mr. Drake, this is nooo problem. Let’s see…”

           He went by the ping-pong players and other kids actually having fun, and did get tempted to school those at the arcade cabinets, but kept his focus on his mission.

           Deciding he’d try a charm offensive, he flattened his hair, went over to where Beverly was watching her wards by the door, leaned against the frame, and smiled.

           “Hey,” he said smoothly. “Must be pretty cool living in Hawaii. I’ve dabbled.”

           She blinked, looked at her clipboard, and replied, “It’s Zach, right? Where did your partner go? Ah…” She checked again. “I believe he was signed up as… ‘Nert?’”

           “Nert…?” Zach murmured. He composed himself and replied, “Oh, he had to go use the…” He looked around the rec center, only to see that there were no bathrooms. “He went… outside. To, um… throw up. Yeah—too much sun makes him nauseous.”

           “Oh, well, that’s not good. I’m going to go look for him, but I think we’ll have to assume he won’t feel well enough to do much else. Sorry about that, Zach. Before I forget, let’s see…” Again with the clipboard. “Oh, tch, you two didn’t win a single sticker? Well, that’s okay. I don’t give these out very often, so that’s special all on its own, right?”

           Zach watched curiously as she dug around in a pouch full of stickers, and pulled one out just for him before stepping outside for a moment to find “Nert.”

           Moments later, the slick thief exited the utility closet with a big key ring obviously hidden under his shirt, and came up to say, “Okay, I got it. Guess you aren’t useless.” He gazed at Zach’s sticker of a smiling sun saying ‘I Participated!’ and asked, “What’s that?”

           “Beats me, Nert.” Zach stuck it on. “Were we supposed to be earning them?”

           That night, the Pentino family ate at a fancy burger place across the street from the beach, where Zach had a giant patty between two buns that came with a pineapple slice he could barely finish. As tiki torches flickered nearby and the sound of waves and smell of sea salt hit his senses, Sophie begged her uncle to let her have a sip of his Blue Hawaii and Zach’s thoughts dwelled more on how best to help Nate in his noble quest.

           Early the next morning, Zach’s aunt led the way up the trail at Diamondhead, full of tourists despite the pre-breakfast hour for many. His mom was fairly fit and had no trouble keeping up with her sister-in-law, but his dad and cousin were constantly having to be waited on so they could catch up. Past trails that wound around the cliffsides and a lengthy pedestrian tunnel, all five eventually climbed the final flight of metal steps up to the summit—still more slowly than Auntie would have preferred.

           And the view was worth it. Nearly all of Honolulu could be seen from one side, on the other were the bright blue waves smashing all across Oahu’s southern coast, and to the north were lush green mountains. As Sophie posed for photos taken by her uncle that she’d show to friends, Zach caught his breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and meandered over to his aunt. She may have needed a walking stick for a bad knee, but she was tough and never afraid to speak her mind, if bluntly at times.

           “Zachary. You survived,” she said gruffly and watched the ocean. “Not so easy, is it? That ‘cool confidence’ of yours can only take you so far in the real world.”

           “I know,” he huffed. “I never claimed to by a demigod who can jump up to the tops of mountains. At least when I tell Wes and Jared I climbed up a volcano, they’ll just assume it was spewing lava. I mean, I get it. Part of being cool is just maintaining image.”

           Auntie smirked, patted Zach on the head, and replied, “I used to come up here every Saturday when I still lived in Honolulu. It’s a beautiful view, but I always wonder what it used to look like before it became overrun with development. Hawaii’s history, like so many places, is a story of stolen land. Heh, but of course, who am I to talk?”

           “Stolen land…” Zach looked towards the west, and spotted their resort down below, looking like a mouse’s dollhouse—and the lot of trees alongside it. “I met a kid whose family’s land is being taken by, uh… Well, it’s being taken, and I want to help.”

           “Help?” Auntie chuckled. “Zach, that’s not the kind of battle you need to fight.”

           But he shook his head and said adamantly, “No. I think I’ve found my calling.”

           The famous, beautiful, tall, and green ridgelines surrounding Ka’a’awa Valley at Kualoa Ranch were instantly familiar to a movie-lover like Zach, and part of the tour by truck brought the group to a large movie prop introduced in a big movie just three years ago. To the few unfamiliar, the excitement of getting a picture taken in front of a fallen long would seem odd. But for Zach, posing next to Sophie for a photograph taken by their aunt as his parents took shots of the landscape, this was another “epic moment.”

           After the click, Sophie dropped her smile, slid her shades back on as they set off to let the next family stand in front of a dead tree, and asked Zach, “You happy now?”

           “Oh, you know I am. That’s the tree that saved Alan Grant and the kids from the gallimimus! Heh, Wes is gonna be so jealous. And, sure, the view is nice, too,” Zach said as a refreshing breeze tousled his expensive haircut. “Hey, Soph? Just in case something happens to me and it all goes wrong, I want you to know that it was for a good cause.”

           She stopped near the dirt road and turned on her heel. “You’re talking about…”

           “I’ve decided to aid a local in a daring but just quest, like my friend Jason would. I can’t give you the exact timing, but I think you’ll find my bravery really cool.”

           “Zach, what the heck are you talking about? Are you trying to help that Nate kid?”

           “U-uh… Maybe…? Okay, sure. How’d you guess?”

           “You won’t stop blabbing about his problems, genius! Look, be careful who you help. Not everyone deserves it, and they might just drag you into their mess. Use your best judgment. Also? What’s even the point? Once we leave, you’ll never see him again.”

           Zach took up a prideful pose and proclaimed, “That’s no reason not to help a guy. Besides, I talked it over with Auntie,” he looked over at her, and saw her seemingly complaining to their driver about his abilities, “and she basically told me to go for it.”

           Sophie grumbled. “I love you, cuz, but sometimes you can be pretty dense.”

           At eleven at night, as moonlight came in through the windows in Zach’s room, his watch let out a beep. Restless and still in his everyday clothes, he got out of bed and quietly snuck out of the cabana; everyone else was asleep or close to it, since they’d all gotten up early and had a full day of hiking and seeing the sights in the harsh sunlight.

           With cabana key in hand, he opened, closed, and locked the front door softly, and stepped out into the night ambience: waves, wind, insects, and distant parties.

           “Wow,” a voice said from the shadows untouched by the resort lamps. “You got guts. You’re actually going through with it.” Nate stepped into the light, revealing that he was wearing a dark jacket with the hood pulled up. “Are you sure you don’t want to turn back, maybe get into that nice, soft… tropical-smelling bed you got in there?”

           “Heh, no way, dude,” Zach said, then took out his shades and smoothly slid them on. He pointed at himself with a thumb and grinned. “I’m Zach Pentino. When I commit to something, I don’t back down. And, yeah, I will wear my sunglasses at night.”

           Eternally unimpressed, Nate shrugged and replied, “Whatever, man. Come on—let’s avoid the lights. The night manager’s on duty in the lobby, but with the key ring, we can enter any door we want. Kitchen’s closed, so I’m thinkin’ we use its trash door, then go through the dining hall, and the hallway to get to Shaw’s office. Once I find the land deed and destroy it, my family will get back the plantation it… I mean, that got stolen.”

           “Cool. You obviously know your way around and have been planning this for a while, so lead the way. I’ll keep a look out, or get security guards to chase me if I gotta.”

           “Awesome,” Nathan breathed out sarcastically. “I don’t mind having a fall guy.”

           “Hey, Nate. I’m not going to get caught,” Zach said as they got moving, sneaking across the lawn and shuffling past the unlit hedges and hibiscus blooms. “I’m starting to feel like you’re taking advantage of me, when I really do want you to get your land back.”

           “Oh, uh, I’m sorry you think that!” Nathan replied, without turning first so Zach could see his face. “I really am grateful for the help! I won’t leave you out to dry. Buddy. I don’t know if I could do this without you, Zach. It’s pretty scary. That’s the truth!”

           “Uh-huh. You know, I’m starting to… Um, never mind. Hey. Why don’t you tell me some about this land of yours. Did you just call it a… plantation? What is that?”

           “An awesome place where we grow fruit and some flowers, too. Or, it used to be. I hung out in there all the time. It was like my own personal jungle. I’d invite my friends over, and we climbed trees and pretended there were tigers and that we were explorers, and we…” Nate trailed off, after having admitted all of this in a completely different tone of voice; one that sounded somehow more genuine. “Well, you get it. If an amazing place like that was stolen by some ugly, greedy old resort, wouldn’t you try to get it back?”

           “You know it, man! I had a place that could’ve been shut down by adults at any moment, and we had to fight to keep it—our club! Thanks for opening up a bit, Nate.”

           “Neat. Now, keep quiet, but also look around while I get this door open.”

           They had arrived at an area of the main resort building, full of the cheaper hotel-like rooms, which visitors weren’t meant to see. Everything was asphalt or concrete in the delivery area with a roller shutter door for trucks. Knowing which door to unlock even if it wasn’t labeled, Nate stopped in front of one and started trying keys from the big ring of them. In the humid night air, Zach watched insects buzzing around a light.

           “Not my first time sneaking into a place late at night,” Zach whispered. “This one time, Charlie… I don’t like talking about him anymore… Anyway, he walked us all the way to the local high school, and we broke in and swam in the pool. It was awesome.”

           Nathan groaned, but as his hands were trembling from stress anyway, he decided to humor Zach and participate, just to have a distraction. “What’s wrong with Charlie?”

           “He got a little too extreme for us. Well, that and he pretty much told me to my face later on that all the ‘cool’ stuff we care about was pointless. He burned that bridge.”

           Nate got the right key into the deadbolt, and they proceeded into the kitchen. It was a plain one, especially in the dark; little more than the equipment and brown tile that still had some water droplets from the dishwashers that must have left recently.

           “And what’s ‘extreme’ to you, Zach?” Nate asked. “Isn’t doing this a little wild?”

           “Good cause, my man. Big difference. He robbed a chocolate store, though.”

           Nate stopped in his tracks after opening the swinging door to the big dining hall where the chairs were up on the clothed tables in the dark, turned to him, and replied with big eyes, “What the hell, dude? Were you part of a gang or something? That’s nuts!”

           “No, not at all!” Zach said, waving his hands at the accusation. “He went out and did that on his own! We didn’t even find out the truth until much later.” He switched to rubbing the back of his neck. “I never expected him to take things that far. Just goes to show, like my cousin says, that learning how to get a read on people… is… important.”

           Nate didn’t like the way Zach was staring at him, though in the moon’s light, he misread the intention behind his eyes. “You aren’t about to go crazy like your pal, right?”

           “What?! No, man—I’m just wondering… Never mind. Are we almost there?”

           “Yeah… Uh, okay. This way. And you better not be about to rat me out, either.”

           With a sudden lack of trust between them, Nate unlocked the main big door for the dining hall with a beach view, and then peeked into the hallway to see if it was clear.

           Mr. Shaw’s office was just a short distance away, and having entered the building without anyone else knowing, it was a simple skip over to the last door standing in the way of Nate’s righteous quest against the tyranny of the island’s hospitality industry.

           “Yes… Yes!” Nate whispered excitedly when he inserted the correct key and opened the door into a darkened room. “We’re doing it, Zach! We’re so close!” He took out a compact flashlight and handed it to Zach after he softly shut the door. “Now help me find it! The deed’s gotta be in a file cabinet, or the desk or something.”

           Zach kept the light on Nate as he scoured drawers, but what came through the office door glass from the lit hallway was still enough to see by. As Zach “helped,” he also did some looking around the room on his own. The shelves were full of awards, both for the resort and personal ones celebrating Mr. Shaw’s local humanitarian efforts. There were pictures of him shaking hands with native Hawaiians who were reclaiming ancestral lands, and of him out front of a school built for children in a small village.

           “Hey… Nate? Are you sure this Mr. Shaw is, like, actually a bad guy?”

           “Yes! He’s a greedy land-stealing pompous jerk and—hey, keep that light on me!” he ordered as he dug through desk paperwork. “It’s gotta be a recent file, and… Wait. This one… Y-yeah! Ha-ha!” He held up a single sheet of paper triumphantly. “That’s our land, you old donkey! Try taking it from us now, you… you resort owning… fart-face!”

           Zach watched him giddily tear the paper into small shreds, while acting nearly as crazy as Wes could sometimes get during a sugar high. He tossed the bits around like rare Hawaiian snow flurries as he laughed—and then froze in place the moment the office lights suddenly filled the room. Nate, standing on Mr. Shaw’s desk, stared at his nemesis with a deranged gaze as Zach turned around and quietly turned off his beam.

           “Nathan?! What the devil are you doing in my office?” he exclaimed.

           “Um… Nothing? No, actually I’m saving my land! What are you doing in here?”

           Mr. Shaw sighed and rubbed his temples. “I come in late at this hour to do the daily paperwork, because I never find time during the day. And that deed you just ripped up is a copy. The sale went through a month ago, Nathan.” His gaze then went to Zach, who wore his rare guilty face. “I’m sure he put you up to this, but I think we need to call your parents in.” He exhaled tiredly. “And here I was hoping to get some filing done.”

           With a look of defeat, Nate stuttered, “Wh-what do you mean it ‘went’ through?”

           “And… that about sums it up,” Mr. Shaw finished his account of events, to four parents and one cousin that were awoken and brought to his office. “Nathan has been doing things like this for a few weeks now, Mr. and Mrs. Lepensk, but I didn’t think it’d escalate to something like this. I suppose I didn’t try handling it earlier, because I assumed he was acting out and would move past it. I hadn’t realized that you never actually told him the sale was a done deal. He was trying to emulate theatric heroics, it sounds like.”

           “We were keeping it a secret,” Nate’s Mom admitted with a sigh. “Now I realize we shouldn’t have made a big surprise out of it. Natey, sweetie,” she squeezed her kid’s shoulder as he sat in one of the two visitor chairs, “with the money we’re getting from this sale, we’ll be moving into a bigger house late this summer. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

           He perked up, stopped sulking, and replied, “R-really? But… the plantation…”

           His dad continued the explanations, “Nathan, it’s overgrown, hasn’t produced viable product in a decade, and invasive mangroves are covering the coastal portion. I know you liked to play there when you were younger, but its time has come and gone.”

           “And, Mr. and Mrs. Pentino? We owe you an apology,” Nate’s mom said. “This isn’t the first time he’s dragged tourist kids along on some scheme. He thinks you’re all gullible, and… Well, I’ll just leave it there. Please, Mr. Shaw, you won’t press charges…”

           “No, no. Not after the business we conducted,” he assured them. “Let’s just let it go, so the Pentinos can get back to their vacation. No harm done.”

           “Nathan, I believe you owe Zachary an apology,” his dad said sternly.

           Nate slumped in his seat, turned to Zach, and muttered, “Sorry, Zach. For… uh, tricking you.” He looked at his unimpressed parents, and added, “I shouldn’t have, like, violated the trust of someone who wanted to help me? Yeah. Can we go now? I’m tired.”

           “Forget about it, man,” Zach grumbled. “I should’ve had better judgment. Ugh.”

           With that, the well-to-do local yuppie couple left with their son, who doubtlessly learned less of a lesson than Zach. His folks, though disappointed, breathed out in relief now that things seemed to be settled. Sophie, standing by the door, hardly cared at all.

           “Thank you for not involving the police in this, Mr. Shaw,” his dad said. “We do like your resort. And Zach’s a good kid. You know, I don’t think he’s ever been to the principal’s office, so this might be the closest he’s gotten. He did just want to help.”

           “He sees the best in people, and is eager to solve problems,” his mom added.

           “I see that,” Mr. Shaw replied. “And I hope he does keep trying to help others. I made it my life’s goal to do just that, when I’m not busy running this place. But, yes, as he said, this was a lesson in judgment. Next time, maybe he’ll think critically before he is taken advantage of. Anyway, I think we’re done here. I still have my nightly work to do.”

           “Thank you, again,” Mr. Pentino said as they headed out. “And good luck with the tennis courts. Zach. Let’s go, buddy. I know you feel dumb, but you’ll weather it.”

           “Tch…” Zach muttered, feeling worse than dumb as he stood up. “So stupid.”

           “Good going, cuz.” Sophie finally got a laugh out once they were back in the hall and on the way to the cabana. “Look at this way: it’s still another ‘epic moment,’ right?”

           “You know,” he groaned, “maybe I’ve had my fill, and I should settle down.”

           Zach spent the first half of the next day in a self-pitying mope cycle, and wore his feelings on his face. His mood was punishment enough for being duped, and his parents chose not to discipline him for his actions after a follow-up talking-to. He found his new favorite place to be, at least while in a deep slump: in the deeper crystal-clear blue waters off Waikiki, submerged and holding his breath somewhere between sand and air. Each visit only lasted about thirty seconds, but that feeling of floating with barely any sound had been doing wonders in helping him forget, or at least getting past his big mistake.

           The tenth or so time he surfaced, he saw that Sophie had left the family’s beach towels and seemed to be waiting for him. Expecting to be scolded or have truth thrown at him that she’d rehearsed in her mind many times, he reluctantly swam to the shallows.

           “Hey, cuz. Parents said it was okay if we take a taxi somewhere, just you and me.”

           “Where?” he muttered. “The Remedial School for Stupidity, Hawaii branch?”

           She smirked. “Nah. You already graduated, remember? Get changed, and we’ll go check out the largest open-air shopping mall in the world. Interested?”

           The Ala Moana Center was also one of the largest malls in the country, dwarfing Zach’s beloved hangout. After spending the late afternoon browsing, window-shopping, traversing multiple floors amongst the palm trees, and even buying a few things, the two cousins took a needed break on the retaining wall for a tropical plant display as visitors walked by in large crowds and live ukulele music played from the nearby stage.

           Under an early sunset sky, Sophie came over with two full shopping bags and ice cream cones in her hands, and took a seat near Zach after handing one off. He tepidly licked at the pineapple-vanilla swirl, while still looking forcibly down on himself.

           “Hey, don’t sweat it if you still feel like crap, Zach,” she said and joined him. “If you’re not taking in this awesome mall, we can come back another day, ya know.”

           He murmured, “I’m trying to get over it, really. It’s just that… Man, I feel like I should never bother trying to help anyone again. I don’t normally fall for con jobs.”

           With a wry smile, she took off her shades to look him in the eye. “Sure. That’s the wrong takeaway, Z. It’s good to go the distance for a friend, but don’t let the mission give you tunnel vision. Next time a chance comes along, make sure it’s the right help. You’ll get one again. ’Sides, we’re here for three more weeks. You’ll forget about this after one.”

           “If I forget about it, then how will the lesson stick? It’ll always be embarrassing, though. I think this’ll be a story I don’t tell the guys…” He took a bite of his cone and added, “Now that I look back on it, Nate was actually kind of rude. And bossy.”

           “You might actually see him again before we leave. Anything you’d wanna say?”

           Zach grumbled, did some thinking, and replied, “Maybe… ‘No hard feelings?’”

           Sophie stared at him and chuckled. “Wow. I could learn something from you.”

           The rest of the extended holiday went smoothly, outside of family drama among the Pentino siblings, and by the time the mainlanders were ready to head home, the little incident at the start of the trip was hardly a passing conversation topic for any of them.

           Zach and Sophie’s aunt gave them hugs at the airport regardless of their behavior in the past, wished them aloha and for them to return soon, and waved everyone off at the security checkpoint. Leaving troubles and stories on Oahu, they boarded their return flight on time, and Zach slept in his premium economy seat. He’d been in those warm waters so many times that he could still feel his body swaying on the smooth flight.

           He never did see Nathan Lepensk again, and he was all right with that.

           Just eight hours after Zach returned to Royal Valley, he was dropped off by his dad for a birthday party with present in hand. He looked at the venue in dismay: Little Greens Putt-acular. Mini-golf. He knew it was coming, but still moaned as he headed in.

           “My parents didn’t punish me, so now the universe is instead. Good goin’, Zach.”